Final Breath
by Psychic Prince
Summary: [Shingeki no Kyojin AU] "If my final breath could somehow save everyone... then I wouldn't hesitate to breathe my last sigh and finally close my weary eyes." In a world where the fate of humanity hangs by a thread, there are those who are willing to give their all to save the ones they love. Marth is one of those people. IkeMarth, Zelink


**Oh my god, it's been WAY TOO LONG. I mean, I've been inactive for... forever. Haha, well, I'm here now. With another SSB fic. Whoop, big surprise.**

**So, I recently got into Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). And thought of an AU. And thus, this monstrosity of a fanfic was born. It would probably help if you had some prior knowledge of the anime before reading this, but I'll explain everything the best I can for those who haven't seen the anime or read the manga (you should try it out though - it's amazing).**

**And because I am a biased lover of Marth, the fic will probably be in his POV most of the time. Maybe Ike's POV or Link's POV too. Or maybe not. I'm such a wishy-washy person. I suck, I know.**

**I'm not really sure about the pairings on this one. The only certain pairing is Zelink, but IkeMarth is EXTREMELY likely, judging by the way I'm planning this plot. And gradual tight friendship between Ike, Marth, Link, and Pit. That's all I guarantee, folks, haha.**

**Another thing: I'm not putting this in crossovers because I'm not sure if it really "counts" as a crossover. It's just putting SSB characters in an SnK world. That's all. Well, I guess it does sort of count as a crossover, but I really don't feel like going into detail. It's late, and I'm tired. I don't want to talk about it, hear me? _Too tired_.**

**Also, special thanks to FyeHalfmoon and SSBB. Swords for helping me get back into the fandom after all this time! I'm so honored that you both waited for me to finally break out of my hiatus, and I truly want to thank you two dears for that.**

**Without further ado, please enjoy!  
**

**Warnings: Dark themes, some confusing elements from SnK that I probably failed to explain, and my un-beta'd junk of a writing style.**

...

About a century ago, mysterious beings known as "Titans" suddenly appeared on the face of the Earth. These beings seemed to be like humanoid giants, ranging from different types, shapes, and sizes. But there was one thing that all of the Titans had in common – they ate humans, not to eat, but to _kill_. They rapidly destroyed humanity, driving them to near extinction.

All of what was left of mankind escaped to the safety of three walls: Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina, with Wall Maria being the outermost wall and Wall Sina being the innermost.

People bravely offered to help fight the Titans, and three organizations of humanity's last military were formed: the Military Police, the Garrison, and the Survey Corps. The Military Police serve as the king's guard and the police in the human territory. The Garrison protects and maintains order near the walls, but the Survey Corps handle the Titans on a much larger scale – they go out into Titan territory to explore in hopes of reclaiming humanity's land.

All was safe for a century.

But one day, mankind received a grim reminder.

There was no escape.

…

_Year 840_

Marth let out a blood-curling scream of anguish. "_Ike_!"

He ran through the debris that cut at his thin legs and bruised his scrawny frame. He coughed on the smoky air. Marth kept running. Running, running, running. Shouts and cries filled the air. Marth swallowed with difficulty, his heart rising towards his throat.

He was so distracted and distraught that he nearly bowled over a hunched figure in the dim light. Marth took the hand of his dearest friend and pulled frantically, desperately.

"Ike, come on!"he pleaded, tears streaking down his face.

Ike did not answer. His dark eyes were blank and staring, a mixture of grief and horror on his face as he kneeled before his father's body. Ike's searching hand finally caught his father's, and he let out a strange, strangled noise in the back of his throat.

"Please get up, Ike! We need to get out of here – the Titans have breached Wall Maria!" Marth weakly tugged at Ike's hand again. There was no sign of Ike's sister and mother. His heart rate was quickly escalating as terrified screams filled the air.

But Marth knew what was going on. The very existence of mankind was being threatened all over again by the Titans. They were all going to die.

Marth let out another shriek and screamed, "Ike Greil, get up this instant! What in the devil's name are you doing?! Live, and fight back!"

Ike's eyes snapped wide open and he turned his head to stare at Marth for a moment. He blinked once. Twice.

"... Marth?"

Marth let out a breathless sob. "Yes, Ike, it's me. Come on, we have to go _now_. Can you get up?"

Ike slowly began turning his gaze back towards his dead father, but Marth quickly took Ike's face in his shaking hands and said in a cracked voice, "No. Please Ike. I won't leave without you. I'll do anything for you. Please. Just... live."

"Promise?" Ike's voice was barely audible.

"I promise."

…

_Year 845_

Marth grabbed Ike's shoulders and shook him about roughly. "Ike, what are you _talking about_? You _can't_ join the Survey Corps. You'll die!"

"I'm joining, and you can't stop me. The Titans must be stopped." Ike shrugged Marth off, his eyes dark and empty of emotion. "I'm not a child anymore."

"Ike,"Marth pleaded, "We just barely made it out of the Titan's grasp five years ago. How could you-"

"Have you forgotten what the Titans have done to our hometown, Shiganshina? Have your forgotten what they did to your family? _My _family?! Don't you understand what they've been doing to humanity for the past century? They've been _eating _us, Marth. _Killing _innocent people. They killed your entire family, including your sister, Elice! Those superhuman giants think they can do whatever they want... if they even _think _at all. I'm sick and tired of it,"Ike snarled bitterly.

He began pacing around the halls that surrounded the courtyard. Refugees milled about, begging for food and provisions. Marth could vaguely hear a soldier yelling orders at those who had survived the fall of Shiganshina. Everything was just so... bleak. Hopeless. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Ike was right.

Marth pushed the nagging thought away and grasped Ike's wrist with both of his hands. He gave his friend the most determined look that he could ever muster, and said firmly, "I'm going with you, then. I'll go wherever you go."

Ike tugged his wrist out of Marth's grip. "Are you an idiot? You wouldn't survive _five seconds_ out there against a Titan, and-"

"I'm going with you, whether you like it or not, Ike Greil!" Marth's voice came out as a strangled screech. His voice echoed across the courtyard, and people stopped in their tracks to stare at him. But Marth didn't care.

"I... I promised you. That I would stay by your side, no matter what. Did I not say that five years ago?"Marth said, his voice no louder than a whisper, "Did I not say that to get you back on your feet after losing your family? I'm coming with you, Ike. I couldn't bear to lose you."

Ike stared down at Marth for a moment before turning away with a small _tch_. Under his breath, Ike muttered, "Why does he have to make that statement _sound so mushy-gushy_?" He stuck his hands in his pockets and disappeared amongst the thick crowds of people.

Despite his inner turmoil, Marth's mouth turned up in a slight smile.

…

_Year 846_

"And who are you?"

Marth swallowed and saluted the head instructor of the 104th Trainee Squad, placing his right fist over his heart and his left fist at on his lower back. He stood up straight and tall and put on the bravest face he could muster.

He said clearly and loudly, "Marth Lowell of Shiganshina, sir!"

The head instructor blinked. He seemed to be an ox of a man – large, intimidating, and strong. Marth knew that the instructor, whose name was Bowser, used to be a part of the Survey Corps. However, after a particularly shattering encounter with the Titans that had left him scarred for life, Bowser had retired, leaving his decades of honorable service to become an instructor to those who would one day be fighting Titans.

"You're a little small to be fighting Titans. It makes me wonder why you're even here, little lady,"Bowser snorted, looking at Marth up and down contemptuously.

One more thing. Bowser was known for his terrible temper, bully-like appearance, and roaring voice.

"Sir, I am a man."

But Bowser had clearly lost interest in Marth. (Who was, indeed, frailer than the other men present – but that wasn't his fault; he was just born that way!) He stalked away, fixing his intense eyes upon Ike, who stood straight next to Marth.

Marth braced himself to hear Bowser's loud voice, but the instructor simply passed by Ike with an approving sort of look. Marth glanced at Ike out of the corner of his eye, his shoulders tense. Ike continued to look straight ahead, unfazed.

"I told you that you shouldn't have come,"Ike said without looking at Marth.

"You can't stop me,"Marth whispered back smoothly.

Ike let out an unbelieving snort and didn't say anything else. Marth tuned in Bowser again, wincing as he came to a halt in front of a young man with strangely pointed ears.

"You! Who are you?"

The man saluted Bowser and replied, "Link of Trost, sir!"

Bowser frowned down upon Link. "What about your last name?"

"Don't have one, sir!"

Among the ranks of the trainees, someone whispered, "Idiot. Who doesn't have a last name?" But Marth wasn't sure who said it.

"So then,"Bowser said slowly, "Why are you becoming a trainee?"

Marth was completely unprepared for Link's response. "So I can live happily with the love of my life, Zelda Hyrule, in the Military Police!"

A female groan sounded from behind Marth, and he turned around to see a pretty woman with her face buried in her hands. She looked embarrassed and ashamed, that was for certain. Marth was sure that he would be too, if someone said that about him. This Link character must've been lovesick or something.

Boswer gave Link a look of disgust. He took the man up by the collar of his uniform and shouted, "Well, I guess you can just live happily ever after in the comfort of Wall Sina while the rest of us are being served up as Titan supper! How does that make you feel?"

Link's eyes widened, but he said nothing in response. Bowser put him down and snorted, "Thought so."

In front of him, Marth could see a smaller man with curled brown hair shudder. But his attention was directed towards a different person as Bowser analyzed him.

It was a younger boy with outrageous pink hair. Pink hair. Marth couldn't believe his eyes. He'd never seen something like that before in his life (although he himself had _blue_ hair). In the his small hands, the boy clutched a single boiled potato.

"And you are?" Bowser simply towered over the boy.

"K-K-Kirby of Trost, sir!"

Bowser eyed the potato in Kirby's hands. "What's with the food? Who gave you the right to _eat during initiation_?" Bowser's voice was becoming dangerously soft.

Kirby stood tall, holding his potato to his chest as if it were his very soul. "I was hungry, sir, so I brought a boiled potato with me from the kitchens,"he said matter-of-factly.

Bowser's yellow eyes narrowed. "What? You stole a potato... from the kitchens? Why?"

"You see, sir, it was just sitting there. I really meant no harm. I was just starving, sir, and the potato was just there, beckoning and calling me to come over and revel in all of its freshly baked beauty."

Bowser looked flabbergasted, and opened his mouth. Once. Twice.

Kirby puffed out his cheeks, then reluctantly split the boiled potato so that he was holding a third of it in his left hand, and the other two-thirds in his right. "Here, sir. I'll give you this half. See? It's still so warm... and delicious... and beautiful..." He held out his left hand with the third of the potato in it.

Bowser was incredulous now, and he slowly took the potato from Kirby's hand and stared at it, then stared at Kirby.

The poor boy ended up running laps for the entire rest of the evening, without a single bite of the potato.

…

"I really thought that Bowser was going to eat me alive,"Link groaned. Zelda rubbed his back comfortingly.

Ike stopped at Link's table, a tray of food in his hands. The trainees had all gathered together for dinner in a small cabin. They milled about, discussing their future plans and hopes and dreams (if they survived, of course). Marth followed behind Ike, staring at his tiny portion of bread and some unidentifiable mush. But Marth wasn't one to complain.

"I really hope you get eaten by a Titan, in that case,"Ike said rudely, sitting down across from the couple.

Marth quickly sat down beside Ike. "Please excuse Ike. He's never been the one to beat around the bush,"he apologized.

Link waved his hand nonchalantly and smiled. "I guess I'm a bit of an airhead, aren't I?"

Marth shook his head and said, "No, I actually thought you were pretty brave out there, speaking your mind against Bowser like that."

"But you can be such an idiot sometimes,"Zelda sighed, picking up her fork and aimlessly poking at her bread.

Link simply shrugged, as if he were used to his girlfriend saying such things about him. Ike was silent at Marth's side, picking apart his bread and eating the pieces one by one. Stoic and silent. As always. Marth turned his head away and stared down at his food, not feeling very hungry. Out of habit, he tapped the headpiece that he wore in his hair – it was all he had left of his beloved sister.

"Marth, you should eat. Training is pretty intense, you know." It was Zelda who spoke.

He looked up at her with his eyebrows raised. Zelda continued, "I overheard your name when you were introducing yourself to Bowser. You're both from Shiganshina, right? I'm really sorry about what happened a few years back-"

"No need to apologize. We don't need your pity,"Ike growled from beside Marth.

His meager portion of bread was gone by now. Without a word, Marth gave what was left of his bread to Ike, who raised his eyebrows. Marth nodded and gave his friend a look that said, "I'm not hungry. Go ahead".

Then Marth turned to Zelda and said apologetically, "Sorry, Zelda, it's kind of a touchy subject for us."

"No, I'm shouldn't have asked,"she replied gently, smiling. Marth could see why Link loved Zelda so much – she was, in short, kind and beautiful, like a princess with flowing brown hair and a pretty face.

All was silent for a few moments before Link cleared his throat and asked, "So... Why did you want to join the 104th Trainee Squad, Marth?"

Immediately, he replied, "I didn't. I'm only here now because of Ike, and Ike alone. I promised that I would be by his side always, and-"

"Cut the sugar-talk, Lowell,"Ike spat. He turned to Link. "Do you really want to know the true reason why I'm here? I want revenge. I want to kill every last Titan out there with my own hands. I want to see them crumble beneath my feet. I want them to feel the same thing I did when Shiganshina was attacked – despair. My entire family died that day. So did Marth's. So did many other friends of mine. I didn't care if it killed me, I wanted to join the Survey Corps. But as always, I am being held back by a certain annoying idiot who has his head in the clouds."

Marth pursed his lips and began, "Ike-"

Ike stood up abruptly, tray in hands, and frowned. "I don't want to hear it, Marth." He walked away, settling at the edge of an empty table on the other side of the room.

Link let out a low whistle. "Wow. No offense, but are you sure that guy doesn't have problems?"

"Ike does seem very... Angry? Sad? Frustrated? I can't quite put my finger on it,"Zelda mused, tracing patterns in the wood of the table absentmindedly.

Marth shook his head. "No, no. He's not like that. Really. Ike's just... different. I think that if people just ignored his outward appearance, they could see that he has a noble and dedicated soul."

Zelda smiled gently. "You two must be very good friends."

That statement made Marth sit up more in his seat. "We've known each other since Ike was born. I'm six months older than he is. We were neighbors in Shiganshina, and when I was bullied by the bigger kids, it was Ike who stood up for me and protected me. I just want to return that favor now,"Marth admitted, "But... I'm scared. I'm afraid that I'm not strong enough to protect him."

Zelda reached out a hand and laid it over Marth's. "I'm sure you can do it. I _know_ you can help Ike." Beside her, Link winked and sent Marth a thumbs-up.

Eyes wide, Marth whispered, "Thank you." He reached down for his bread, then remembered that he gave his portion to Ike.

Marth twisted around to see Ike reluctantly nibbling on the edge of the bread, and he let the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile.

Suddenly, a figure burst through the door, breathing heavily. It was Kirby.

The boy fell to his knees, then sank face-first to the ground, his entire body heaving. From where Marth was sitting, it looked like he was actually dying.

"Hey, man, do you need some water?"Link called, but was interrupted when a stunningly pretty blonde woman crouched down next to Kirby.

"Oh, poor dear. You must be exhausted."

She held out a loaf of bread in front of the boy, and his eyes immediately lit up. He shot up straight, and snatched the bread away from her hands, gazing up at her with wide, glazed eyes.

"Are you... Are you a goddess?"Kirby wheezed out. He promptly began eating ravenously, with a sort of mad glint in his eyes. Marth vaguely wondered if Kirby was actually crazy on the inside.

As if reading his mind, Zelda commented, "Oh, Kirby's not mad. He's just food-crazy, that's all."

Marth pulled a strange face, his eyebrows shooting up so high that they disappeared behind his bangs. "Alright then."

Link laughed at Marth's facial expression and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be meeting plenty more weird people in the 104th Trainee Squad!"

…

Marth's face once again met the dirt-filled ground. He sat up, wincing, and spat out dust, glaring up at Ike halfheartedly.

"You could be a little nicer, you know,"he heaved out, coughing on the words as he stood again.

"Can't,"came the reply, "I have to prove myself."

Marth only let out a sigh and took up a fighting stance again. He held his fists out in front of his body and gave Ike a mocking look with his eyebrows raised.

"I hate this training exercise. All right, Ike, come at me with all you've-"

Marth's breath was painfully knocked from his body as Ike threw a punch at his shoulder, then elbowed him in the stomach for good measure. Marth ended up sprawling across the ground again, his limbs shaking. His eyes stung from the dust, and he blinked rapidly.

"Wow, you're really strong!" Marth didn't recognize the speaker.

He looked up to see a smaller young man with brown hair and bright blue eyes. He recognized him as the unnamed boy that had been standing in front of Marth during the initiation. The one with curly brown hair. In Marth's opinion, he seemed much too young and innocent to be a trainee, like Kirby, but who was he to judge? Especially with Ike constantly telling him to leave because he was too weak.

"No, he's just weak,"Ike said contemptuously, but he still held out a hand for Marth to take. Marth grimaced as Ike pulled him up so fast that he nearly flew across the other side of the yard.

Marth managed to get out, "Who are you?"

"The name's Pit Icarus! And you might be...?"

"Marth. Marth Lowell,"he said graciously, then added, "And my partner is Ike Greil. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

But Pit was hardly listening.

"So, you think you can really knock all of those Titans out? How good are you with swords? You must be great at using the 3DMG, right? Where did you come from, anyway? Gee, I wish I were as strong as you! You must already have a girlfriend, am I right? I wouldn't be surprised if-"

Marth reached over and slapped a hand over Pit's mouth. "Quite the talkative one, aren't you?"he hissed through clenched teeth, quickly glancing over an an aggravated Ike.

He turned Pit around and released him, but whispered inconspicuously, "I really wouldn't irritate Ike, if I were you. Best not to ask him too many questions."

Pit gave him a face that clearly said, _Oh_. He then grinned and gave Marth a thumbs-up. "No problem!"

…

Marth wrapped bandages around his fingers so that they could heal for the next day – he had injured them while punching some people around. He sat cross legged on the top of the bunk bed that he shared with Ike. It was very late at night, and Marth was getting ready to turn in for the night.

He had also tended to the several bruises and wounds that Ike gave him during their bout, opting to remain shirtless for the time being. Marth had already accepted the fact that he wasn't at all muscular – he was lean and slender, definitely not the right sort of body type to be fighting Titans. Even Pit had some muscle on him.

In fact, Marth wondered why he even had to combat fight. Sure, it was a test of strength and it actually helped Marth become a little better at fighting, but he figured that he wouldn't be taking on a Titan with just his bare fists. Marth sometimes wondered if he could ever really become a member of the Survye Corps. It seemed that he was good at absolutely nothing so far. However, a voice startled him out of his reverie.

"Marth."

"Mmm?"

There was silence, then an embarrassed cough. "Er... Are you okay?"

Marth glanced up at Ike, who was perched on the ladder of their shared bunk bed. His friend was staring intently at a crease in Marth's bedsheets, as if it fascinated him to no end.

"I'm fine,"Marth reassured him, "Besides, I thought you didn't care about beating me up."

"Well, yeah, but seeing you with so many bruises made me rethink a little,"Ike admitted gruffly.

Marth smiled, tying the last bandage onto his finger. He reached for his plain, scratchy brown nightshirt, feeling slightly self-conscious with Ike casting glances at the large purple-green bruises all over his torso. Marth slipped the shirt on, and sat back carefully.

"See, no more bruises! You can actually look at me in the eye now, Ike."

Ike refused, instead opting to run his fingers over the wooden frame of the bunk bed. "We're doing some sort of Titan Fighting 101 class tomorrow."

"Mmm."

"It's at six-thirty in the morning."

"Mmm."

Marth closed his eyes. Ike was silent after that, and Marth opened one eye to look at him.

"Don't worry, I'll wake you up,"he said gently, and Ike perked up a little at that.

"Thanks in advance, then."

The door to the boy's cabin opened up, and Link and Pit strolled in, first looking at Marth, then at Ike on the ladder.

Link settled on the bottom bunk of the bed next to theirs, remarking, "Gee, I didn't know you guys were _that _close."

"Oh my god, Link, it's not like that,"Ike hissed, jumping off the ladder abruptly and plunking down into the bottom bunk.

Link held up his hands in surrender as Pit climbed the ladder up to his own bunk above Link's. "Hey, just making a statement."

"Just shut up before I throw you to the Titans." Ike's voice was muffled by the blankets. Marth sighed and went under the covers as well, staring up at the plain cabin's wooden ceiling.

Marth could hear Pit laughing as Link shuffled over to blow out the candle, grumbling the whole way about how much he hated sleeping with lights on. The room went dark as Link puffed at the only source of light.

"Goodnight, Ike." To Marth's surprise, he, Pit, and Link said this simultaneously. Pit couldn't restrain another small laugh at the coincidence.

There was a long, heavy silence after that, and Marth was just dropping off to sleep when he heard Ike's voice from the bunk beneath his.

"Goodnight."

...

**I solemnly swear that I'll describe the outfights and gear (like 3DMG) in the next chappie. Gee, but it took me like a month to write this whole thing up.**

**Anyways, again, I highly suggest checking out Shingeki no Kyojin. But for those of you get nightmares about superhumans eating humanity, I DON'T suggest it in that case, haha.**

**I hope you liked this first chapter!**

**Please leave a review!**

**- Psychic  
**


End file.
